Sourdough bread pudding is topped with warm honey sauce

Mention sourdough bread and you’ve got our attention. It’s one of our all-time favorites. We love it plain with butter, or toasted to go along with our morning coffee. So there’s not usually much left over to play with. When we find a great sounding recipe like this one, however, we put some bread aside to make bread pudding. This recipe comes from Rachel Ray’s collection – you can count on her to come up with tasty offerings that are easy to put together.

It’s a nice, rich dish for cooler weather, studded with chunks of pecans, and topped with a honey/butter sauce that’s accented with cayenne and cinnamon to give it a little kick. Just pull up a chair by the wood stove and dig in.

SOURDOUGH BREAD PUDDING WITH HOT HONEY SAUCE

2 eggs
2 cups milk, at room temp
1 stick, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups sugar
3-1/2 to 4 cups cubed sourdough bread
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

1.Preheat oven to 325°. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, then beat in milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter and vanilla. Gradually add th sugar and mix until dissolved.

2. Place bread cubes in 9-inch round baking dish and pour egg mixture on top. Sprinkle pecans on top and press them into bread. Bake until set, about 50 minutes.

3. A few minutes before pudding is done, in medium saucepan, heat remaining 1 stick melted butter with honey, cinnamon, cayenne and salt over medium heat, whisking to combine. Remove from heat and whisk in cream. Drizzle half of warm honey sauce over bread pudding and serve the rest alongside. Eight servings.
Prep time: 15 minutes. Bake time: 50 minutes.
(Recipe by Robb Walsh, from Every Day with Rachel Ray, April 2007. Photo by John Kernick.)